Sparkbuy Emerges from Stealth, Unveils Laptop Shopping Site

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[Updated 11/30/10 with signup link. See below] Seattle-based Sparkbuy has come out of stealth mode today, rolling out a comparison shopping website for consumer electronics, starting with laptops. The company also confirmed that it raised $1 million last month led by Benaroya Ventures and angel investor Geoff Entress. Sparkbuy’s website is now in closed beta trials. (Here’s a signup link that’s good for 100 registrations.)

Reached by e-mail, Shapiro talked a little about his motivation for starting Sparkbuy. “Am I the only person who doesn’t want to read five pages of reviews in order to feel like an informed consumer?” he wrote.

He also said a bit more about his experience as a second-time entrepreneur. “Ontela was something I was excited about. Sparkbuy is something I’m passionate about. I’m a hardcore tech shopping geek, and I always feel like it takes too long, and is too hard, to find the perfect gadget,” he says. “If I was the suspicious type, I’d think manufacturers were deliberately obfuscating their products to make it hard to find the best one.”

I haven’t had a chance to try out the new site yet, but if you have, please leave a comment below (or leave a note with Marginize—just click on the tab to the right of this story) and let us know how well it works.

Gregory T. Huang is Xconomy's Deputy Editor, National IT Editor, and Editor of Xconomy Boston. E-mail him at gthuang [at] xconomy.com. Follow @gthuang